Field
The present patent application relates to chairs. In particular, the present patent application relates to chairs having ergonomic motion features.
Description of Related Art
Chairs are generally designed to support a user in two locations, for example, in the seat pan area and along the back. Some chairs are designed to provide support to the user in the lumbar region as well. The seat back (including the lumbar support) and the seat pan are the components of the chair that come in contact with the user's body when the user is seated in the chair.
Simple padded seating, contoured padded seating and engineered breathable mesh seating have also been developed to provide comfort and support to the user. Some of the chairs also include a plethora of adjustments that allows the user to adjust the seat to an optimal posture position. For example, ergonomic chairs can be adjusted into an optimal position for each user.
Also, chairs are generally designed based on decades-long “ergonomic” theories. These theories usually attempted to accommodate the user in stagnate (i.e., static) correct posture positions. Recently, the concept of sitting too long in a stationary position, no matter how correct the posture position may be, has been considered to be unhealthy.
Further, there has also been an interest in non-traditional ergonomic seating within the workplace environment. These products are usually based on seating that is not chair based. For example, the non-traditional ergonomic seating may include stools that pivot off a base, or are shaped like mushroom heads or saddles. Each of the non-traditional ergonomic seating is based on some sort of observation of freedom of movement versus the stationary classic ergonomic design. Due to their unusual design or the additional problems that these type of seating devices may create, they have not been widely adapted.